I was scrolling through Pinterest the other morning while I was at work and came across something that said “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” It stuck with me and all week I’ve been thinking about things I’d do if I wasn’t afraid. This list is in no way complete, nor can it ever really be. There is always going to be something I’m afraid of, which, in my opinion, is good, because it means I’m always challenging myself. Here is a list of things I would do if I wasn’t afraid:

1. Travel the world alone

One thing I have wanted to do my entire life is travel the world. Anytime I’ve traveled in the past it has always been with someone else. I’m afraid to travel alone because I’ve never done it before. I know it is something that I will one day do, but right now, today, travelling the world alone is scary to me

2. Take a year off to find myself

Everyone who has taken a gap year did so before the start of college. I went straight to college from high school. At seventeen, I left home and had no idea who I was or what I wanted to do in life. I kind of know what I may want to do, but who I am, and what my end goal is, I have no idea. If I was brave enough, maybe I would take a leave of absence and figure that stuff out. Go off the grid, experience a different culture, work with refugees. I would love to do these things, but I’m afraid I still won’t know who I am or what I want to do.

3. Tell those who hurt me that they have

I recently wrote an article dedicated to the person who walked away from me, the person who has hurt me multiple times consistently. I wrote that so I could get that hurt off my chest. I’ve never told this person that they’ve hurt me. I’m sure they have to have some inclination, but they choose to ignore it. I hate confrontation and yelling, therefore I haven’t told them how much they’ve hurt me, and how much they continue to do so. One day, I will be brave enough to tell them, but until then, I’ll keep the hurt to myself and silently deal with it because I’m afraid of their reaction. Despite the hurt, I love them.

4. Write a book

Again, exposing some deep thoughts on paper is terrifying. Maybe one day I’ll get over it and see my name scrawled across the cover of a book.

5. Swim with sharks

Because sharks eat people, need I say more?

6. Pet big cats in Africa

Um...we’ve all seen lionesses hunt, right?

7. Fail